


The Tale Of The Ruined Vacation

by afteriwake



Series: The Family Business [17]
Category: Elementary (TV), Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-02
Updated: 2014-05-14
Packaged: 2018-01-17 21:11:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1402585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lestrade finally gets to come visit Joan in New York, but their plans go awry when they're forced to work on a cross-jurisdictional case.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> And another prompt for **land_deduction** is answered! This is filling the "Lestrade" prompt for my card, even if it's kind of a Joan POV. I will finish this story as soon as I can, I promise. I still have many more stories to get through for this series!

“So. You’re really going to come visit me. I’m glad.” Joan was walking around her room, cell phone pressed to her ear. She had a smile on her face because in less than twenty-four hours her boyfriend was going to be in town. The boyfriend she hadn’t seen since a few days into the new year, which was two months ago. She was excited, but she was trying not to get overly excited while on the phone with him. “When does your flight come in?”

“Tomorrow at six in the morning your time,” Lestrade replied.

“That’s…really early,” she said.

“You don’t have to meet me at the airport. I can easily take a cab,” he said.

“No! No, I’m going to meet you. I’m usually up at that point anyway. Sherlock is an early riser.” She looked at her clock. It was eight in the morning for her, which meant it was one in the afternoon for him. If his flight was coming in at six AM her time tomorrow morning, that meant he was leaving at ten PM today her time, which mean for _him_ it was three in the morning. “Aren't you going to be exhausted when you get here, Greg? I mean, your flight is leaving at three in the morning your time.”

“I plan on sleeping on the plane,” he replied. “It was the only one I could get after work today that would get me there early tomorrow. And if I am tired I can always go to my hotel room and rest for a bit.” He paused. “Though I will admit I would much rather spend time with you instead of sleeping.”

She was quiet for a moment. “If you don't mind the company I could maybe rest next to you,” she said. “I mean, nothing is going to happen, but...I wouldn't mind. To be honest I miss being close to you. Two months is really a long time.”

“Trust me, I know,” he said with a sigh. “But just think about the fact that tomorrow morning you get me for three weeks. And I bet your Sherlock might even let you have some time all to yourself, too.”

“Oh, he better, because if he doesn't he might find all of his favorite tea and coffee blends in the garbage, among other things,” she said.

Lestrade chuckled. “You can be quite evil, I think.”

“I just really missed you,” she said. “I talk to you every day but it's not like you're here. It's not like I can pick up a phone and arrange a date and then see you immediately. I mean, how much planning did all of this take?”

“A lot,” he conceded. “But it's going to be worth it. I mean, you think that, right?”

“It is. And I do. But there's times I wish things were easier, that we were closer.”

“It could always happen later. You could move to London or I could move to New York,” he said quietly. “Or we could figure something else out. But for now, let's just think about the fact we'll be in the same city again for three weeks.”

“I know. I'm happy for that, I really am. I just wish it could be longer.” She sat down on the edge of her bed. “Maybe after you go back I can come visit or something. I know John would probably love to see me and so would his family. Even Harry, I think.”

“He told me he envies me right now,” he said with a chuckle. “And so has Sally. I think he brings it up at least once a day around her.”

“Well, I don't talk to him every day like I talk to you. He probably just misses me.”

“Trust me, he does. I think everyone here does. It was nice to have you around even after your Sherlock left.”

“I miss everyone there too,” she said with a sigh. “I really hate that now a large chunk of my friends are an entire ocean away. I mean, I have friends here, but Sally and Molly are really good friends as well. And I adore Mrs. Hudson. And I even miss your Sherlock, too.”

“You actually miss him?” Lestrade asked, surprised. “Because if you miss him you can have him for a while.”

“Is he being insufferable again?” she asked.

“Not as bad as he used to be. Molly is a very good influence on him. I even catch him every once in a while with a genuine smile on his face. It's strange, but much better than the ones he fobbed off on all of us before he started dating her. But he's getting antsy. I think he might be paying a visit soon enough. Something about settling some old business.”

She was quiet. While Sherlock knew the truth about Irene being alive and so did John, as far as she knew no one had told Lestrade. But he was going to be in New York and there was no way Irene was going to be able to hide from him for three weeks. She debated it in her head for a moment before she spoke. “Speaking about that. There's something you should know. About his cousin's girlfriend.”

“That she's really Irene Adler? I already know,” he said.

“What? How?” she asked, shocked.

“Sherlock thought it was pertinent information I knew before I came out to visit. I assumed he had their permission to tell me. Is that not the case?”

“I don't know,” she said. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I mean, she's still kind of in hiding.”

“It's all right. I can always pretend I don't know who she really is if it's not something I'm supposed to know,” he said.

“You know that won't work. They both know you aren't stupid.”

“Well, I can try.” He was quiet for a moment and she waited. “It appears I have a new case to look over. I'll see you tomorrow morning, all right?”

“It won't keep you in London past tonight, will it?” she asked nervously.

“Sally is more than capable of handling it on her own. And besides, it sounds like the type of case that's right up Sherlock's alley. Knowing him he'll solve it before he goes to sleep tonight and I won't even need to bother.”

Joan laughed. “Well, then don't let me keep you.”

He was quiet again. “Is our relationship to a point where I can say something without being too forward?”

“It depends on what you want to say,” she said, rather hoping it was what she thought he was hinting at, because if it was she felt the same way. “Would it be a three word sentence?”

“It would.”

“Then you should probably just say it,” she said as she grinned even though he couldn't see her.

“I love you, Joan.”

Her grin got even wider. “I love you too, Greg.”

“I'll see you tomorrow morning, then. Bye.”

“Bye,” she said, hanging up. She got up off of her bed and after a moment did a dance that Holmes would have teased her about if he had seen it. After a moment she composed herself before heading down the stairs. Irene and Holmes were already up, moving around in the kitchen. She went over to the kettle. “Good morning,” she said with a wide grin.

“Someone looks decidedly chipper this morning,” Holmes said, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, hush,” Irene said, swatting her own boyfriend. “Her boyfriend is coming to visit tomorrow. I'd be happy too if I was in her position.”

“Yes, but she looks downright giddy,” Holmes said, narrowing his eyes.

“Well, if you must know, something rather big just happened,” she said.

Irene gasped slightly. “Did you two just admit what I'm fairly sure we knew a month ago?”

“I knew it when she came back from London,” Holmes said.

“ _I_ didn't even know it when I came back from London,” Joan said, rolling her eyes. “But yes. There was an admission this morning.”

“Congratulations,” Irene said with a wide smile. Then she looked at Holmes, who was shaking her head. “You should be happy for your best friend.”

“She could do worse,” he said thoughtfully.

“If you aren't careful I'm going to throw something at you,” Joan said as Irene swatted at Holmes's shoulder. “Something hard that will leave a bruise.”

“I'll hold him still while you aim,” Irene said.

“What? It's the truth. I've seen her do worse already. Remember the blind date your friend set you up on, where the man was married?” Holmes pointed out. “Or the man who flirted with you at the park who ended up having an arrest record longer than my arm? Or--”

“Enough,” Joan said wearily, holding up her hand. “I get your point. Yes, I could do worse. But I really like him, Sherlock. So if you screw it up you might not live long enough to see the birth of your child.”

Holmes looked at her. “You really do love him. I don't think I'd have imagined you using homicide as a threat to keep me in line.”

“Yeah, well, don't see if I'll actually do it.” She took the kettle and filled it with water. “He knows, by the way. About Irene. Your cousin thought he should.”

“I'm glad one of you told him, though I wish Sherlock had asked us first,” Irene said with a sigh. “I don't think I would have liked hiding in my bedroom for three weeks.”

“I could have made that enjoyable,” Holmes said.

“Sherlock,” Irene said, shaking her head with a smile on her face. “You're incorrigible.”

“Only with you.” He gave her a grin before turning back to Joan. “As it stands, I think it's a good thing. I trust Lestrade to keep her secret. And it means we can continue on much the same way we have since we all began living together.”

“Which will be very nice,” Irene said.

“Yeah, it will,” Joan said. “I didn't like keeping that from him, but it wasn't my secret to tell.”

“I would have understood if you told him. From everything I've heard he's a good man,” Irene said. “I was thinking of making some crepes for breakfast. Would you like some?”

“I would love some,” Joan said with a smile as Holmes's cell phone went off. Then Joan groaned. “Not a case.”

“I can handle it on my own if it is,” he said, waving his hand as he answered it and moved out of the kitchen to take his call.

Irene looked over at her. “We both know he'll rope you into helping him one way or another,” she said.

“That's what I'm afraid of,” she said with a sigh.

“Well, at least you'll have Greg here to be there when you aren't working,” Irene said. “Let's start making breakfast, shall we? This is a craving that won't leave.”

Joan smiled at her. “I don't think I'd deal with pregnancy cravings half as well as you do.”

“It helps I don't get very strange ones,” she said with a chuckle. “Though I do keep sending Sherlock out all over Manhattan to get food I miss from home. Part of me really does crave the food, but another part of me enjoys watching him tear the city apart to find it.”

Joan laughed. “You are evil sometimes, Irene.”

“Well, I try.” She tilted her head slightly as Holmes came in again. “Interesting case?”

Holmes looked at Joan. “Did Lestrade get a case as you were on the phone with him?” he asked.

Joan nodded. “Yeah, he did. Why?”

“I think his vacation has become a working vacation. Gregson said this was a cross-jurisdictional case, and Scotland Yard decided that since he was going to be here anyway Lestrade would be their man on this.”

“This is not what I wanted to hear,” Joan said, hanging her head. “He deserves an actual vacation. And I deserve it, too.”

“We will do everything we can to solve it quickly,” Holmes said. “As it stands, we can get started as soon as we eat. If we can make some headway before he gets here at least it will be a start.”

“I suppose so,” she said, biting back a sigh. “Let's eat and then head out. The faster we solve this the happier I'll be, and the happier Greg will probably be, too.”

“I understand,” Holmes said with a nod.

Joan turned away and put the kettle on the stove. This was definitely a complication none of them needed, but it appeared as though neither she or Lestrade were going to be lucky enough for things to go their way right off the bat. Still, she had hope that they could solve it quickly. Whatever the case might be, her Sherlock was going to be on it, and no one else involved were slouches, either. So the sooner they got started to sooner it would be solved and the happier they would all be.


	2. Chapter 2

Joan was at the airport at five-thirty in the morning, and at the gate where Lestrade’s plane was to arrive at six. She could see it taxiing down the runway as she arrived. In just a few minutes she would get to see him, and she found she was a mixture of nerves and excitement. But that didn’t last long as she saw two members of airport security come to the terminal. She frowned as they went onto the plane, and after a few minutes a man got led out in handcuffs with her boyfriend and another man right behind him. Lestrade seemed to be very annoyed until he saw Joan and then he gave her a wave before nodding to the two members of security who had come after the first two. She nodded back and he went to talk to them. Fifteen minutes later Lestrade was finished, and he came over to her. An airline attendant joined them before he could say anything, carrying a carry-on in her hand. “You forgot this,” she said with a smile, handing Lestrade the bag.

“Thank you,” he said, giving her a smile. “It would have been very unpleasant being here in New York without it.”

“Thank you for your help,” she said gratefully. “We all felt much safer with you around.”

“It’s not a problem,” he said as he nodded. “Made for an interesting flight, at least.”

“Well, take care, Detective Inspector,” she said. Then she smiled at Joan. “I think you’re in good hands now.”

“I know I am,” he said with a grin towards Joan. The airline attendant left and then he shook his head. “I get the feeling this entire trip is going to be very eventful. Is there any chance we can get some coffee, and a lot of it? I didn’t get any sleep.”

She nodded. “We can find a Starbucks after we get your luggage.”

“Thank you,” he said. “I imagined our reunion going quite differently, I’ll admit. But I can at least still give you a kiss hello.”

“That would be very nice,” she said with a chuckle. He set his bag on the ground and pulled her closer. She kissed him first, and the kiss lasted for some time. When they pulled apart she had a wide grin on her face. “I really did miss that,” she said quietly.

“I did too.” He reluctantly let her go and picked up his bag again, yawning as he did. “I definitely need that coffee.”

“We’ll get you some,” she said, nodding. He offered her his hand and she grasped it. “What happened on the flight?”

“Some young punk threatened a flight attendant. There was another DI on the flight but no one from Homeland Security, so we both took turns keeping an eye on him once we got him somewhere where he wouldn’t bother the other passengers. He’s a mouthy little prat. I damn near clocked him at one point.”

“Sleep deprivation and annoyance will do that to anyone,” she said as they made their way to go collect his luggage. “And you know, Gregson and Sherlock won’t mind if you get some sleep first if you explain what happened. I mean, how long have you been up?”

“Since five yesterday morning,” he said. “So just over twenty-four hours now.”

“I’m going to make sure you get some sleep, then. Sherlock’s got a few leads he wants to check out, but nothing’s going to happen until noon. We could go to your hotel and get a little bit of rest. I’ll just text Sherlock on the way there and let him know you need sleep.”

“You don’t have to join me, you know, if you need to rein your Sherlock in.”

“He doesn’t need _that_ tight of a leash,” she said with a slight laugh. They made their way away from the terminal towards the baggage claim. “It really is good to see you, Greg. I'm just sorry there's a case mixed up in all of this.”

“Well, I lucked out in that my vacation doesn't start until after the case is solved. I mean, if it drags on for ages they'll know I'm just stalling, especially since there's a member of the Holmes family helping, but they're expecting it to take at least a few days time to either solve it or stop making any headway. Once Detective Gregson says I'm no longer needed then my vacation starts.”

“So I get you for over three weeks?”

“Depending on how quickly we solve the case, yeah,” he said with a nod.

“That is extremely good news. And it looks as though you might get a few days. Sherlock's a little bit stumped on this one. I mean, not on the hows. He figured out why the victims look the way they do in less than ten minutes. But the why has him up. I'd be surprised if he got more than four hours sleep last night.” She frowned after she said that. “In fact, I'm really surprised he wasn't up when I left.”

“Maybe his girlfriend made him get some rest,” he said.

“Maybe,” she replied with a nod. “If she demanded it he'd do it even if he'd rather be awake.”

“It's very strange to think of Irene Adler living here in New York with a boyfriend. And pregnant. I mean, with her reputation...” He shook his head. “I shouldn't even say that. I don't know her personally and she's your friend.”

“It's all right, Greg. She's very upfront and honest about her past with Sherlock and I, and she probably will be with you too, since you know the truth. And if they ever come back to visit now I would expect her to be that way with the other Sherlock and John.”

“She never struck me as a happy person, when she was in England. I always thought she must be terribly lonely.”

“Oh, she was,” Joan said with a nod. “A lot of that had to do with my Sherlock and a fight they had years ago. Apparently that was why he was so hard to work with when he was in London.”

“I thought it was just genetics, because my Sherlock wasn't exactly a joy to work with, either,” Greg said with a slightly wry smile. “It appears they have mellowed with age and under the influence of the right women.”

“Oh, I think that both of them were the best people for their respective Sherlocks. Irene gets mine to be more considerate and slightly less...” She thought for a moment. “I suppose jerkish. I think Irene used the phrase 'gigantic prat' to describe how he was on a bad day, but that seems to have tapered off a lot since he reunited with her. He's not so much of a jerk to everyone now, which I appreciate. And Molly is probably the one person in the world other than John who will tolerate all her Sherlock's quirks and slowly make him better.”

“You know, one day a long time ago I told someone that my Sherlock was a great man, and one day if we were lucky he'd be a good one. Since he came back from New York, and even more since he started dating Molly, I can see him being a good man. It's nice that I was right.” He yawned again. “You know, I'm almost reconsidering the coffee and just thinking I should get some rest.”

“Then let's go get your luggage and get you checked into your hotel,” she said.

“That sounds good,” he replied with a nod.

They made their way to the luggage area, keeping up a flow of conversation, and once he got his suitcases they made their way out of the airport and towards the waiting cabs. They got into one and he gave the driver the name of his hotel. Joan could see he was trying very hard to stay awake as they made their way to their destination, and he'd taper off in mid-conversation at points. When the cab pulled up he'd been dozing, and she paid the driver before shaking her boyfriend awake. “We're here,” she said. “I already paid the driver so let's get you checked in, all right?”

“You didn't have to,” he said.

“It's all right.” She nodded towards the door. “You're dead on your feet. The sooner we get you to bed the better.”

“Yeah,” he said. They got out of the cab and he got his luggage and carry-on from the trunk and they made their way up to reception. He went up to the counter. “Greg Lestrade,” he said.

The woman at the desk typed his name into her computer, and then scrolled down before frowning. “You have a reservation?” she asked as she looked up. He nodded. “I'm afraid I don't have you in our system, sir.”

Lestrade hung his head. “Of all the times...” he muttered.

“Do you have any open rooms?” Joan asked.

She shook her head. “I'm afraid we're all booked solid. Most hotels in this part of the city are.”

Lestrade got angry looking but Joan put a hand on his arm and shook her head. Then she looked at the woman at the reception desk. “I'd like to speak to your manager...” She glanced at the badge she wore. “Carol.”

She looked worried. “All right,” she said quietly.

“Thank you,” Joan said with a nod. Then she inclined her head away from the desk as Carol got on the phone. “Just give me a few minutes,” she said quietly.

“To do what?” Greg asked.

“Get you a room. One of my friends was a concierge at an upscale hotel in Manhattan. I know exactly what to do. Do you trust me?”

“I do,” Greg said.

“Then leave it to me.” She gave him a smile as they waited. After a few minutes the hotel manager came to them, and Joan spoke with him for a few minutes. Finally she pulled her wallet out of her purse and gave the man some money. He gave her a wide smile and then moved back to the reception desk as Joan moved back to Lestrade. “You'll have a room as long as you stay here. One of the suites, actually. And it will be at half what you would have paid for a much smaller room.”

“How much money did you give him?” Lestrade asked, his eyes wide.

“A hundred,” she said with a slight shrug.

“Joan, that's too much,” he said, shaking his head.

“Well, he told me normally it would take two hundred for him to even consider it, but I told him you're from Scotland Yard and he said he was cop before he started working here so he'd give you a deep discount and the best of the rooms they had in reserve. You'll find cops in this town generally tend to treat visiting cops really well. It's the FBI they don't get along with..”

“I'll pay you back,” he said before he yawned again.

“Don't worry about it. You can just buy us dinner for the next week,” she said with a smile as the manager came back to them. He handed an envelope to Lestrade and said if he had some time later he'd love to swap stories. Lestrade grinned back and nodded before yawning again. The manager took that as a cue to leave and after he told them the room number he was gone. They made their way to the elevator and Joan pushed the button for his floor. “I'm just glad you're going to finally get some sleep.”

“I should probably take the room key out,” he said, opening the envelope. Then his eyes widened and he grinned, taking the card out and handing the envelope to Joan. “I think this is yours.”

She gave him a strange look, then opened the envelope. Inside were five twenty dollar bills. “He gave it back,” she said in a surprised tone.

“I'm definitely going to share stories with him now,” Lestrade said with a chuckle. “After I get some sleep and see what progress we can make on the case.”

Joan gave him a grin. “I definitely think my faith in humanity was just restored.”

“You need that sometimes in our line of work.” He yawned again. “I think I'm going to be out the minute my head hits the pillow.”

“Well, I texted Sherlock while you were dozing and he was awake. He said not to worry and just sleep as long as you need to. If you wake up after noon he'll have more leads, he thought.”

“Then I just get to inform Detective Gregson of the delay,” he replied.

“No, Sherlock said he'd do that for you. And he's understanding. Once Sherlock tells him you haven't slept in twenty-four hours I think he'll insist on you sleeping now.”

“Then all I have to do is get in the room and pass out,” he said.

“Pretty much, yeah,” Joan said with a laugh. She reached over for his free hand, lacing her fingers in between his. “And at least you won't be in bed alone.”

“I think I might get used to it, which will make it worse when I have to go home,” he said quietly. “If I get used to sleeping next to you it will be hard when you're not there. I'm going to expect to share a bed with you even when you're here in New York and I'm at home in London.”

“So maybe I should be nearby but not next to you in bed,” she suggested.

“But I'd much prefer you sleeping next to me,” he said with a sigh.

She was quiet for a few minutes. “Well, maybe when this is all over I can go back to England to visit. And we can spend some uninterrupted time together. No cases, no Sherlocks, no distractions. And really, we don't even need to stay in England. We can go wherever you want to go.”

“I have decided on of my goals this year is to get to see you in a bikini,” he said with a grin. “On a warm beach somewhere.”

“A warm beach sound very nice, but that would be in Florida or California or Hawaii or something.

“I have quite a bit of money saved up. For the actual three week vacation we could always fly away and just stay on a secluded beach until I have to go back to England.

Joan though. “My friend Thomas has a timeshare somewhere in the Caribbean,” she said. “Maybe he'd let us borrow it.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Lestrade said gratefully. “Can you call him?”

“He wakes up in about an hour. I'll call then.” Then she leaned in towards him. “Unless a certain boyfriend of mine has a death grip on my waist, locking me in place.”

He looked at her intently. “Or if there are certain activities going on and you just get distracted.”

“What kinds of activities?” she asked slowly.

He shook his head. “Forget I mentioned it.”

Joan moved closer to him, letting go and framing his face in her hands before kissing him. It was a fairly passionate kiss, and she knew as he kissed her back exactly what he wanted. She hadn't been sure until the question was asked how he would feel, but right now she wanted to see how far this led her. He pulled her against him and deepened the kiss and then suddenly they were on his floor and the doors were opening up. He reluctantly pulled away and looked at her. “When we get to my room, what's going to happen?” he asked quietly.

“I think you guys use the term shag instead of sleep together. So...if you want, we can shag. But only if you want. If you want to just sleep we can do that too, and the shagging can come later if you want to do that. But I'm open for it. If you are too, I mean.”

“I think I'd rather wait until I'm more awake,” he said with a grin. “As long as you sleep next to me now. We can see what happens after that.”

“All right,” she replied with a wide smile. They stepped out of the elevator and then made their way to his room. Lestrade put the key card into the door and opened it when it unlocked. Both of their eyes were wide as they stepped inside. Joan was looking around, taking in the opulence, and then she glanced at Lestrade, who looked like he was about to fall asleep dead on his feet. “Let's go find the room and get some rest,” she said.

“Yeah,” he said with a nod. The opened one door, than another, and neither of them had rooms. The third door did, though, and Lestrade shrugged out of his jacket and draped it on the back of a chair as Joan took off her own jacket and set it on top of his. Then they got their socks and shoes off and made their way to the bed. Joan got on first and Lestrade climbed in on the other side, putting an arm around her waist as she snuggled in beside him. He yawned one last time. “Night, Joan.”

She finished getting comfortable and put her arm over his, shutting her eyes. “Sleep well, Greg,” she said. When she didn't get a response she smiled and settled in to get some sleep. She wasn't exactly sure what would happen when they woke up, but she got the feeling it would be very interesting indeed.


End file.
